(Photo: REUTERS/Mary F. Calvert)
U.S. Senator Kelly Loeffler on Wednesday disclosed that after the wealthy Republican and her husband were lambasted for selling millions of dollars in stock during the coronavirus outbreak, she will liquidate her individual market-share positions.
Loeffler, who was named by Georgia's governor to her Senate seat in January, has consistently denied any wrongdoing. She is looking to be elected to the position in November.
In a tweet on Wednesday, the Loeffler said she's not "doing this because I need to. I am doing it to step beyond the distraction and bring the focus back on the important work that we all have to do to defeat the virus."
The Georgia state Republican's tweet links to a Wall Street Journal opinion piece she wrote with the headline "I never traded on confidential Coronavirus information."
The senator has also refuted allegations that she was involved in insider trading since reports said diversified over $20 million in stock in March after she was briefed behind closed doors on the pandemic on January 24, claiming that her portfolio is controlled independently by third-party advisors and is informed, as shown on the report, following transactions.
Loeffler is possibly Congress's wealthiest politician, and her partner, Jeff Sprecher, is chief executive officer of a firm - Intercontinental Exchange - that owns the New York Stock Exchange. She is widely seen to self-finance her campaign and had already funded it with a $5 million loan before she took office.
Investment accounts from her family are being used as "weapons" in an attack on her reputation at a time when "we should all concentrate on making our country safe and strong," she said. She added that in the midst of all this health crisis, the temptation to spread misinformation is too great for members of the press community and her political foes.
Loeffler faces several opponents for her Senate seat in next fall's special election, especially from GOP Rep. Doug Collins. In his campaign, Collins sparked controversy over the senator's stock dealings.
Although there has been no recent public surveys in the race, a recent poll conducted by the Collins campaign after the controversy over the stock transactions of Loeffler showed the representative with a big advantage over the senator with 23 percentage points.
Republicans in her state and others have called for Loeffler to resign. Republican Intelligence Committee chairman Sen. Richard Burr faced similar accusations and has also denied any wrongdoing. Loeffler and her husband are estimated to have a net value of over $500 million.
